SO YOU’RE IN RECOVERY: NOW WHAT

Life in recovery requires time and patience. You’re going to most likely experience a lot of emotions. Some moments in life might make you feel angry, sad, impatient, worried or disappointed…but don’t let that stop you. Here are some tips for living life on life’s terms in recovery from Substance Abuse.

PATIENCE

It will take time to adjust, accept the situation and see improvements. Patience is important because you won’t improve completely overnight. You should take your recovery day by day; go outside, see a movie, hang out with your friends (as long as they’re supportive of you!), travel, and find hobbies. Having patience and finding activities you enjoy will help the process go by much faster.

EXERCISE

Part of life after recovery is working on your health and wellbeing. It’s important to exercise your brain and body by either working out, practicing yoga or meditating. It will improve your mood, self-esteem, and make you feel better about yourself. If you work out 3-5 days a week, you’ll start to see physical and emotional improvements on your body and feel great doing it.

EAT RIGHT

Going off of the exercise tip, it’s also important to eat healthily. Eating healthy will make your body feel better and help your appetite. Your snack cravings will become less and you’ll begin to feel better about yourself. You’ll have more energy, you’ll combat more diseases, you’ll have more controlled weight and your mood will be better. What’s not to love about eating healthy!?!

CELEBRATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Are you 1 week or maybe 1 month sober? Even if you’re 1 year sober, it’s time to celebrate! Celebrating your accomplishments raises your self-esteem and makes you feel better about your recovery. By setting short-term goals, you’ll be aware of what steps you need to get there. When you’ve accomplished that goal, it’s time to set a new one! When you set short term goals, you can be aware of long term goals you want as well.

FIND NEW HOBBIES/ACTIVITIES

Last but not least, have fun! Find friends that support you. Sign up for a sport, join a bowling league, take up wood crafting or learn to play the guitar. Sitting around will not do you any good, so might as well make the best of the situation and see what the world has to offer.